Heart of the Cards
by SeekerOfDarkN
Summary: Xehanort has reformed & it seems that the Keyblade War hastens ever closer. Feeling that Sora is unprepared for the coming war, Master Yen Sid sends the young wielder off to a secluded world to train, not his body, but his mind. / Varu Tallon (my oc) may have a troubled past, but when a stranger named Sora walks into his life, he realizes that it could be worse. (full of ocs)
1. Prologue

There is a world out there that exists in a perpetual state of night. The resident of this world, an elderly wizard by the name of Yen Sid, didn't mind. It allowed him to study the stars with hardly any trouble, save the occasional cloud. He wore a long blue robe and a similarly colored pointed hat that had had little yellow celestial body shapes on it. Yen Sid stood watching the stars in his room atop his Mysterious Tower, one hand behind his back and the other stroking his magnificent grey beard thoughtfully. He did not like what the stars were telling him today.

A bright flash of light broke the wizard's concentration, bringing his attention down to the glowing tracks that ran past his tower. A purple train, with gold trimmings, small white star decorations, and a purple colored version of the hat that Yen Sid himself wore, was pulling up to the floating island that his tower stood on. Yen Sid nodded, the corners of his lips pulling up into the smallest of smiles. _Good._ The wizard thought as he turned away from the window and sat in his chair behind his nearby desk. _He arrived sooner than I expected._

About ten minutes later, a knock sounded at his door. Having opened a book to read as he waited, Yen Sid placed a bookmark in it and, closing the book, Yen Sid called out, "You may enter."

A boy with spikey brown hair and deep blue eyes walked in with his trademark grin. He wore a blue and red t-shirt with a black short sleeve hoodie and shorts that had massive red pockets, more akin to bags, on the sides. Yellow straps crisscrossed the entire outfit and a silver chain necklace with a crown charm hung around his neck. The boy waved with one of his black fingerless gloved hands as he walked into the room. The boy laced his fingers together behind his head and leaned on one leg as he asked the wizard, "You wanted to see me, Master Yen Sid?"

"Yes, Sora, I did." The wizard replied, stroking his beard as he addressed the boy in front of him. Yen Sid closed his eyes, briefly reflecting on his words before he began. "You have accomplished much over the past two years and have grown into a strong and capable Keyblade Wielder."

"Even though I didn't pass the Mark of Mastery Exam?" Sora asked, his smile turning sad. It impressed the elderly wizard that the boy was taking his own failure so well. It spoke of both his maturity and his personality.

"Precisely." Yen Sid answered with a nod. "but alas, strength and capability will not be sufficient in the coming battles."

"Against Xehanort?" Sora raised an eyebrow and unlaced his fingers from behind his head, every move questioning the wizard's statement. When Yen Sid nodded, Sora shifted uncomfortably and asked, "Is he really that strong? I mean, I know I haven't actually seen the guy, but we've won before right? We've pretty much beaten him at every turn. Yeah, he's a threat to all the worlds, I get that, but – "

"It is not his strength that is Xehanort's greatest advantage." Yen Sid interrupted with a raise of his hand. The boy's face quickly adopted a look of confusion. The wizard continued patiently, "It is his ability to plan many steps ahead, while also possessing several contingencies in place should his plans fail. You see, he has orchestrated every event that has occurred over the past decade."

After blinking blankly for a moment, Sora scratched the back of his head, asking, "So… he's really smart?"

"Indeed." Yen Sid replied, standing up as he held in a sigh. The wizard often forgot that Sora, despite being a capable Keybearer, was still just a child. One who had been through things that no child should endure, but a child all the same. "We must strive to avoid any more of Xehanort's machinations."

"What do you have in mind?" Sora asked, tilting his head in curiosity. Yen Sid walked to the window and looked to the stars – well, to one star in particular. The wizard was silent for a moment as he began to second-guess his plan. True, Sora would grow as a tactician, yet there was a huge risk involved. The young wielder would be vulnerable. And the rules of that world…

"Um – Master Yen Sid?" Sora interrupted the wizard's thoughts. Yen Sid halfway turned towards the boy and, when their eyes met, Yen Sid's resolve hardened. This boy was crucial to the coming Keyblade War – Yen Sid was sure of it. And it was the wizard's job to prepare him for it. With another stroke of his beard, Yen Sid said, "Before the battle with Xehanort begins, it would be wise for us to train your mind."

"Makes sense." Sora responded, bringing a hand to his chin thoughtfully as he shifted his weight. "So what's the plan then? Am I staying here so that you can teach me? Or do you have some – "

"Patience, Sora." The wizard said, raising a hand to quiet the young Keyblade Wielder. "You have two options ahead of you.

"Your first choice is to remain here, where I can work with you personally. I will provide different challenges for you to accomplish, varying in complexity. Some will use magic while other will require you to perform a series of rigorous actions to complete the task." Others will require answering a question or solving a riddle."

Sora was listening intently, if a little worried. Yen Sid noted the young man's face paling slightly at the mention of riddles. It didn't surprise the elderly wizard; according to Jimminy's records, Sora often found solutions to his problems by plunging headfirst into them. With a sad smile, Yen Sid continued, "The second option may be more challenging, but potentially more rewarding."

"How so?" the young Keyblade Wielder swallowed heavily. "What is the second option?"

Folding his arms in front of his chest, the wizard continued, "This option requires you to travel to a world with unprecedented rules. A world that fights not with power, but wit and skill. This world will be vastly different than any other world that you have been to."

"Even more different than Port Royal?" Sora asked, tilting his head. Yen Sid nodded. The young wielder's eyes practically glowed at that. "So my options are to either stay here and train or travel to a new world that's different than any other?"

"Put simply, yes." The wizard answered as he resumed stroking his beard. Sora laughed loudly for a moment before falling back on his trademark grin, saying, "Master Yen Sid, you know I'm always ready to adventure to a new world!"

"Very well." Yen Sid nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. Of course, he knew what Sora would choose before presenting the options. But, he had been proven wrong before, so it didn't hurt to present the options anyway. Mentally shaking himself, the wizard stated, "I have a gift for you to take on this venture."

As Sora tilted his head questioningly, the wizard motioned with his hand. Out of a puff of smoke appeared a small, foldable mirror, which floated in the air in from of Sora. It wasn't much larger than the boy's hand, with a dark wooden border/case, the only decoration being a crown similar to the boy's necklace engraved on the front and painted gold to match the case's latch.

"What is it?" Sora asked, grabbing the floating mirror with a gloved hand. "I mean, besides a mirror."

"It is a communication tool. Unfortunately, you will have to go alone – the King's magician and captain are currently preoccupied with important tasks at the castle. As such, we will need a way to reach you, should the situation arise where you are required. All you need to do is say my name and I will answer on this mirror here." Sora looked like he was about to ask a question, so, guessing what the young man was going to ask, Yen Sid added, "You will only be able to contact me. I haven't had the time to make more of these enchanted mirrors, but soon each of the Guardians will possess one."

"Oh. Okay." Sora replied, nodding to the answer of his unspoken question as he pocketed his new mirror. "I should let everyone know that I'm leaving. Can't just leave without saying goodbye." A pause. "Again."

"The King, Riku, and Kairi are on their way now. They'll be here soon." The elderly wizard stated. At Sora's inquisitive look, he continued, "I have to meet with them to discuss a few things."

"Oh. Ok." Sora nodded, a smile spreading across his face. Lacing his fingers behind his head, the young man asked, "So how will I get to this world? Will I be taking the Gummi Ship?"

With a shake of his head, Yen Sid informed the young wielder, "Unlike the other worlds that you have visited, the Gummi Ship will be too conspicuous for you to take. I've arranged for the Mystic Train to take you there once – "

"Thanks a lot, Master Yen Sid! I should probably meet my friends before I head out!" Sora exclaimed as he took a quick bow before turning to leave.

"Don't you wish to know more about the world that you're going to, Sora?" the wizard asked as the boy opened the door to his study. "The train won't arrive with the King and your friends for another fifteen minutes, after all."

"Where's the fun in that?" the young wielder said, shooting a smile back at the elderly wizard. "Besides, it'll take me fifteen minutes to climb down the steps of the tower."

With that, Sora left the now smiling wizard in his study. After a moment, Yen Sid's smile slid off and he returned to his desk. He sat in his ornate chair, his gaze falling to a book on his desk. He had been reading the book before Sora was to arrive. The wizard stroked his bear, dwilling on the book's contents for a moment before opening the book one handedly to one of its pages and began reading it again.

 **KH x YGO**

Varu Tallon woke up to the ringing sound of his alarm. His emerald-green eyes slid open easily as he calmly shut it off. The six-foot teenager slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom down the short hall. Thirty minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of black jeans, a white V-neck with short black sleeves, and a silver necklace with a wolf-head charm. The boy's short black hair, which had dark blue undertones added to it as of last week, was brushed so that the bangs swept across his forehead.

Varu closed the bathroom door and headed down the stairs to the ground floor. He lived in a relatively small house. It had two floors, with the top having two bedrooms plus a bathroom while the ground floor was where a small bathroom, the master bedroom (if you could call it that), plus a dining/living area that included small kitchenette, a dining table, and a couple of bean bag chairs surrounding a TV. The stairs were right across from the front door and right next to the master bedroom. Right in front of the front door was an area for everyone's shoes and a coat rack.

Varu paused when his eyes landed on the front door as the unpleasant memories flashed through his moment, like usual. The teen shook his head and walked to the kitchenette. Before long, he was cooking some bacon and eggs as he waited on the bread in the toaster to finish toasting. A few minutes later, footsteps sounded from the stairs, signaling the eminent arrival of Varu's mother. Sure enough, the nightgown-wearing woman stumbled into the kitchen, yawning and stretching as she walked to coffee pot. As she made the coffee, Ms. Tallon put her long black hair in a low ponytail and pushed her long bangs behind her ears. After pouring herself a cup, Varu's mom sat at the kitchen table and started to sip at her coffee.

A comfortable silence filled the air as Varu finished cooking breakfast. A few minutes later, he walked towards the dining table with two plates of eggs, bacon, and toast. Varu placed one down in front of his mother, before taking his place at the table and digging into his breakfast. Ms. Tallon smiled briefly and thankfully as she began eating. After a few moments of eating, she looked up at her son and stated, "You know, most teenagers would sleep in during Summer Break, not wake up at sunrise to make breakfast for themselves and their moms."

"Well, I'm not like most teenagers." Varu said, the small smirk giving the sarcasm away, despite his otherwise serious tone. His mom recognized the teenager's humor and smiled. Taking another sip of her coffee, she asked, "True. So, 'not like most teenagers' son of mine, any plans today that require to be up with the sun?"

Swallowing his mouthful of eggs, Varu replied, "I plan on going by the train station. You know I like watching the trains come and go."

"Uh-huh." Ms. Tallon said, raising an eyebrow humorously. "And I'm sure train watching is the only thing that you'll be doing."

"Well…" The teenager said, a cocky smirk crossing his face. Ms. Tallon knew that smirk; it was one of someone who was certain about winning, as playful as it was cocky. That smirk was one of the few attributes that Varu shared with his father and brother – long ago, at least. "I may have a few duels lined up."

"Aaaaand there it is." Ms. Tallon joked, smiling widely now. Now finished with their breakfast, mother and son got up to take care of their dishes. Varu washed them while his mom dried, stacking them atop each other on the counter to make it easier to put them away. When Varu tried to reach for the stack of dishes to put away, his mom shooed him away, saying that he 'shouldn't keep his challengers waiting'.

The dark-haired teen flashed his cocky smirk towards his mom before jogging to the front door, where he put his checkered converses on. Varu Tallon stood, grabbing the generic KaibaCorp Duel Disk from its place on the coat rack. After he made sure his deck was in its place, the teen opened the door. The sounds of Domino City waking up wafted into the Tallon house, mixing in with Varu's farewell to his mother. Shutting the door behind him, the teen breathed in the city's scent as he slipped on his Duel Disk. Then he jogged towards the train station, the morning sun nearly blinding him from the side.

Varu found himself stroking his wolf charm as he ran, a sure sign of apprehension. He didn't exactly know why though. The app on his cell predicted fair weather throughout the day. The two boys he was meeting near the train station, who were regular challengers, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Why, then, was he so apprehensive? Forcing himself to stop stroking the charm, Varu persuaded himself that it was just another day, even if it was the first Monday of Summer. He was going to beat these two duelists and spend the rest of the day chilling at the train station. Nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen today. 

**So, let's talk about the story for a moment. As you've no doubt noticed, Yugi Moto and company haven't appeared yet. 'What's up with that?' I hear you ask. Don't worry, they'll show up. I will integrate them into the story, but I wanted this to be an original story with original characters and cards. I think Yugi has deserved a break from saving the** **world, don't you think?**

 **So here it is. My first attempt at writing fan fiction. Hope you enjoy. Leave a review; tell me what you think. What do you think is going to happen? Can you find the secrets before I lay them out? We can only wait and see.**


	2. Chapter 1: Something Out of the Ordinary

**CH1:**

 **Something Out of the Ordinary**

Varu Tallon smirked as his opponent's Life Points hit 0. As the holographic images faded out of existence, the defeated boy comedically fell unto his rear, slightly out of break and his closely cropped blonde hair somehow plastered to his head in sweat. The blonde wore the blue, suit-like outfit of some high school that Varu didn't recognize. His smirk softening into a small smile, Varu strode over to his opponent, and then offered his hand, saying, "That was a good duel, Derek. You nearly had me, there at the end."

"Don't lie, Varu. It's not like you." The boy responded with a humorous scoff. He accepted Varu's outstretched hand and was pulled up onto his feet. Derek nodded his thanks and started pulling cards off his Duel Disk, talking about the duel. "Your monsters aren't even that strong, but they just don't stop coming. Maybe I should add 'Ground Collapse' to my deck? That would limit the monsters that you can use at once…"

"Whoa there." Varu chuckled, holding up a hand to stop the flow of words. "Before you start adding random cards to your deck, let me ask you a few questions."

The blonde boy warily nodded his head, seemingly unsure of where Varu was going with this. Bemused, Varu started to remove cards from his own Duel Disk, asking, "Do you know what my deck wants to do?"

Scratching his head, Derek took a moment to think. Varu finished re-assembling his deck from the duel as he waited patiently. Hesitantly, Derek replied, "You want to summon as many monsters as possible?"

"Close, but not quite." Varu stated with a smirk. "My deck wants to summon monsters that can outmaneuver your side of the field. You saw this when I took down your 'Gilford the Lightning' earlier.

"But, let me ask another question." Varu said, pushing the _'Travel Mode'_ button on the bottom of his Duel Disk. The machine whirred to life, the large wing splitting into two unequal pieces to fold along his arm. Once the whirring stopped, Varu looked Derek in the eye, his smirk falling as he asked, "What does your deck want to do?"

"Uhhh. I don't know." Derek replied, slightly abashed as he stared at his Duel Disk, or, more likely, his deck. "I've never really thought about that."

"Most players don't." Varu groaned as he stretched his back. "Most people just play for fun, so they put all of their favorite cards together, only kind of checking to make sure that they work together. Now, theres nothing wrong with playing that way, but those decks don't always pan out. I personally stick with a style of play and build a deck around that."

"So what do I do?" the blonde opponent asked in confusion. "We've been training for almost a month now. Is all the information and tips you've given me so far not important?"

"Not at all." Varu stated, a finger touching his silver wolf charm as he finished stretching. "How are you going to win? Which combos do you want to use? How are you going to get to your cards when you want them? You need to keep all of that stuff in mind both while playing the game and while you build your deck."

 _Great, now I sound like him._ Varu thought, slightly disgusted. _It's too bad he actually gave good advice._

"So where do I start?" Derek asked, breaking Varu out of his thoughts. Shrugging non-chalantly, the dark-haired boy stated, "Pick your favorite card."

"Didn't you just say not to use your favorite cards when making your deck?" His opponent asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"No, I said don't use ONLY your favorite cards." Varu replied, shaking his head. "But by using your favorite card as a base, you can get a jump start on building your deck. It gives your deck a focus that a lot of decks don't have, since you'll want to build a deck that utilizes that card effectively."

"I see." Derek whispered in comprehension, his voice having trailed off as he begun to think. "That makes sense."

Varu smiled softly before moving to leave the alley that they had dueled in. Varu gave his opponent a quick pat on the shoulder as he left, saying over his own shoulder, "You've improved greatly, Derek. I can't wait for our next duel."

"I look forward to it as well." Varu heard the other teenager say before turning the corner. His smile deepened as he walked down the street towards the train station at the edge of town. Derek enjoyed dueling in alleys for some reason, which Varu didn't question. He didn't care anyway. He was just glad for the duel.

As he walked to the nearby train station (it wasn't very far from the alley that Derek and Varu were dueling in, part of the reason he chose it), the teenager noticed, not for the first time, the strange looks that strangers gave him as he passed by. He didn't necessarily blame them, seeing as monsters from the game that he played had seemed to appear all over the world a few weeks ago. The general public didn't really think too highly of Duel Monsters these days. Still did they have to look disgusted _every_ time Varu walked around with his Duel Disk on?

When Varu reached Domino Station, his mood had offially soured. Being near the edge of Domino City, the slightly aged brick building had a rare view of the surrounding country. As the teenager approached the metal railing that separated the trainyard from the outside of the station, a train's whistle sounded in the distance. He released a long breath, relaxing some of the tension in his shoulders.

Varu always felt relaxed here at the Domino Station, though he couldn't tell you why. Maybe it was the regularity of the train schedule, which was posted via electronic board on the wall outside of the building. It could just be that he found the sounds surrounding the station soothing, especially those of a passing train. Whatever the reason, the teenager always came here whenever he had the opportunity.

He stayed there at the metal railing for over an hour, the sun slowly climbing its way across the sky. Varu saw one train arrive and two others leave while he stood there. Looking at the time on the electronic schedule board, the teenager decided that he should go get lunch before his stomach decided to cause a scene, as it was prone to do.

As Varu took one last look at the trainyard, a flash of light caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Looking down the tracks, he saw the strangest train coming towards the station. It was only one car, colored purple with gold trimmings and white stars, and was that a wizard's hat on the top of it? Varu had never seen such an odd train before in all of his years coming here. He just had to know where it was coming from. And to deepen the mystery, he could only see one silhouette aboard, and in a sitting area no less!

But when he looked at the schedule, there wasn't another train scheduled to arrive for another hour and a half. No train would arrive that early, would it? The train looked like it barely had an engine powerful enough to pull the strange car.

His impeding hunger forgotten, Varu went into the building. His curiosity demanded that he find out about this train. Where did it come from? Why was it here? The best way to find out was to ask the passenger that came on it. He didn't even realize that he was stroking his wolf charm as he walked.

 **\- KH x YGO -**

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh! I'm BOOOOooooored!" Sora shouted as he sprawled unto the floor for the third time. It had been at been at least two hours since he'd boarded the train. The young wielder didn't anticipate such a long, or boring, train ride to this world he was to the train at. The boy sat up, his chin resting on a gloved hand as he looked up through a window to the now familiar sight of space. Sora already missed his friends: Riku, Goofy, the King. Even Donald, though he would never say it to his friend's face. Sora huffed before pulling himself up to his feet. He wasn't used to traveling alone. Ever since he started his adventures 2-3 years ago, he was almost always with Donald and Goofy. They'd been through so much together – fighting Ansem (who turned out to be Xehanort's Heartless), fending off an army of Heartless in Hollow Bastion (no, _Radiant Gardens_ ), and defeating Ursala the Sea Witch for the second time (while singing, no less).

Sora felt a shiver run down his spine as he thought about his second visit to Antlantica. He enjoyed singing with Ariel, but a singing Donald Duck is not too pleasant to hear. He avian friend would say the same of him, but that's beside the point.

While Sora reminisced about his adventures, he began to feel the atmosphere within the train shift. The Kingdom Key materialized in his hand on its own. The young wielder looked at the keyblade with a raised eyebrow; the magical weapon continued to surprise him every once in while. Then the Kingdom Key raised itself to chest height, a bright white light appearing at the tip. A loud sound like rushing wind resonated through the air and a light similar to the one at his keyblade's tip enveloped the train, blinding the young wielder.

When his sight finally returned to normal, Sora immediately went to the nearest window. The sight made the wielder smile. Tall buildings of steel and glass blocked most of his view, but that was okay. He just couldn't wait to see what this world had to offer. Sora always got excited when it came to visiting new worlds. So many new sights, sounds, people, and experiences at each one – how could he not feel excited?

"This is going to be so fun!" Sora said, raising his left hand to press himself against the window as he tried to get a better view of the world. As he did so, the keyblade wielder noticed that his left arm felt heavy. When he looked down at his arm, Sora jumped back in startlement. Strapped to his arm was some strange device. It was shaped remarkably like the Kingdom Key hilt, with a black electronic display running through the center of it. There was a tall slot where a deck of cards (they were brown with a black circle in the center and a beige border) sat. On the opposite side of the deck, a Mickey Mouse head charm jingled from its hook. A silver wing with thin slots the same size as the cards in the deck slot (the card slots were grey with white crowns, similar to Sora's necklace, in center) was folded along the outer edge of his arm. The wing looked like it extended out and to the left at the push of one of the many buttons on the other side of the device.

Sora was a little weirded out. The device looked like a twisted version of his keyblade. Speaking of his weapon, where was it? He was holding on to it when the flash of light happened and he didn't remember dismissing it. A thought began to cross his mind and he looked at the device on his arm again. Maybe…

"Wait." The teen wielder's thought disappeared, his mind now distracted. "These aren't the clothes I was wearing."

AS it turned out, Sora's clothes hadn't changed, but the color of them had. His shorts were almost completely black now (his giant bags for pockets were still red) and the shoes matched, though they were accented with red and silver laces and trims. His shirt had turned a bright, light red interwoven with silver accents. His short-sleeved jacket remained primarily black, but all other colors had been changed to silver and red, the inside of his hood being silver. His silver crown necklace and charm still hung prominently across his neck. In his last adventure, he gained access to powers called 'Drive Forms' that, when used, changed the colors of his clothes. Was this just a new Drive Form?

Before he could think about it too much, the Mystic Train, which had been slowing almost imperceptively, came to a complete stop. Forgetting about the strange device and his 'new' clothes, Sora hurried to the train's doors, an impossibly wide grin on his face and a bounce in his step.

Once Sora stepped off the train, its doors slid closed with a hiss. The young wilder had just enough time to turn around to see the strange, purple train disappear in a muted flash of light. The first time that he had seen it leave like that, Sora had gotten really nervous that he had been stranded forever. Now, of course, he knew that it would always appear whenever it was needed. Still grinning widely, the boy swivled on his heel and, eager to see what this world had to offer, rushed off the platform that the train had come to stop at –

-And straight into another boy. Both boys stumbled backwards, breathless from the collision. The boy that he had run into began massaging his chin, saying, "Watch where you're going, Speedy."

"Sorry about that." Sora replied with an apologetic smile. He winced at the stinging pain from his forehead. _The guy has one boney chin there,_ the wielder acknowledged as he tried to rub the pain away.

"Uh-huh, sure you are." The other boy said. It took Sora a moment to realize that he was being sarcastic, but chuckled a little once he did. With a small smirk, the other boy crossed his arms and asked, "So, what were you rushing around for?"

"No real reason." The wielder answered, scratching the back of his head with his right hand. "Just excited. This is my first time here, after all."

"Oh? Where you from?" The boy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Sora's breathing stopped, his heart skipping a beat. What a question to ask. How could he answer without revealing the existence of other worlds? Though Sora thought that keeping such a thing a secret was an insult to most people, Donald was insistent that they keep the 'World Order', whatever that meant. Thinking quickly, he replied, "Uh… I'm from an island. The locals called it 'Destiny Islands'. It's someplace in the tropics."

"Don't know it." The other boy said after a moment's thought. "But if you're from an island, how did you get here by train?"

"I travel a lot. 'Specially for the last few years."

"Really? Do you use that purple train often?"

"Um," Sora fumbled through his words, thinking about his rocket, the Gummi Ship. "Sometimes I take a ship?"

"Right, because you're from an island." The boy said, remembering Sora's words. "It's just that I've never seen a train like that one, and I've been watching trains since I was little."

"Really? I didn't notice." Sora was nervous now. This boy, a teenager with short black hair (which had really cool looking dark blue undertones in it) wearing jeans, white-neck with black sleeves, and a prominent silver wolf-charm necklace, was asking too many questions. The wielder was afraid he'd let something slip.

"Yeah. Hey, I don't see it around." The boy noticed, turning towards the platform that Sora had just left. The wielder could feel the blood draining from his face. He couldn't find anything to say. Did this world know about magic? Or did he need to make up some excuse for the train's strange and sudden disappearance? He was spared from doing so when the other boy spoke flatly, if a little disappointed, "I guess it left already. Shame. I wanted a closer look at it."

"Not much to look at, anyway." Sora said conversationally, visibly relieved that he didn't have to dance around another question. Lacing his fingers behind his head (and nearly forgetting about the device on his arm; luckily, he remembered before bashing his own head with it) and putting his weight on one leg, the wielder grinned at the other boy and stated, "So, we got off to a bad start, running into each other like that. You wanna try again?"

"Sure. Why not?" The dark haired boy answered with a smirk, then he held out a hand for Sora to shake. "The name's Varu Tallon. But most people just call me Varu."

"I'm Sora!" The keyblade wielder said exuberantly, unlacing his fingers and bumping his fist to his chest before enthusiastically grabbing Varu's outstretched arm and shaking it; his infectious grin never leaving his face. "Nice to meet you, Varu!"

"The pleasure is mine, Sora." Varu said, his smirk widening into a grin much like the wielder's. "You mentioned that this was your first time in Domino City?"

"That's right!" Sora replied, releasing Varu from the handshake. "Can't wait to see it!"

"Well, you're certainly enthusiastic." The black-haired teenager chuckled. "So that's why you came here? To sightsee?"

"Kinda." Sora answered, scratching the back of his head again. "I was also told that this was a good place to train."

"Train for what?" Varu asked, eyebrow raised once again. Before Sora could answer, his stomach growled loudly. After a moment of silence, both teenage boys laughed, Varu a bit more subdued than Sora. And when they were just about to calm down, Varu's stomach let out an even louder growl, which just set them off again. Once they officially calmed down, Varu said, a grin plastered to his face, "Well, that's a question that can be answered over lunch. C'mon, I know just the place. The meal's on me."

"What? Really?" Sora asked incredulously, his face in a huge, eager smile. It was then that the wielder noticed the device on the other boy's arm. It looked similar to the one on his own arm, though it was a slightly different shape and had blues and reds on it. Sora's grin fell by a fraction of a margin as he wondered what the device was.

"Sure. It's not often that I get to meet Duelists from another city, let alone a tropical island." Varu assured Sora with a pat on the shoulder. Sora shot his fist in the air with a celebratory whoop, only barely registering the fact that Varu had called him a Duelist, whatever that was. But the wielder's celebration was cut short as Varu started to jog away, calling out over his shoulder, "But you'll have to keep up with me!"

"Oh, you have no idea." Sora whispered, a memory of his fight against Xemnas flitting through his mind as he ran to catch up with Varu. The two teenagers left the old train station, neither looking back. Neither of them noticing a shadowy figure standing on top of the building they just left. The figure watched the two boys run off into the city, waiting until they were out of sight before turning and walking away.

 **A/N: So here's the next chapter. Sorry for the long delay, school hit and it hit hard. Being a music major does that occasionally. Any who, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I enjoyed writing it, mostly because getting into the characters' minds is always fun. Nothing too exciting has happened yet, mostly just the two mains meeting for the first time. I promise that the next chapter will have some action, so just hold on! These first few chapters are going to be slow, but things should start picking up around the 5th or 6th chapter. On to responses!**

 **To BelieverofManyThings - Thank you! I always love starting stories. I hope I can make the following chapters just as fantastic!**

 **To MaryEvH - I agree; OCs, when done properly, are amazing. My favorites mostly come from Skyrim fanfics. I actually went and researched on how to make a character, just so that I wouldn't end up with a flat character. I hope that the rest of the story is just as good as this first chapter.**

 **To Guest - Don't worry, I plan on continuing. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story.**


	3. Chapter 2: A Simple Lunch

**Ch. 2**

 **A Simple Lunch**

It took about forty minutes for the two teenagers to arrive at a diner-esque restaurant called Mickey Dee's. The building was shorter than the ones on either side, made out of red brick. A large window showed the diner's simply decorated interior. Along the restaurant's left wall sat the ordering counter and small kitchen. Red leather booths occupied most of the space along the other walls. One table, long enough to fit 12 people easily, sat in the middle. A wall, connected to the long table, separated the ordering counter from the dining area and providing room for a line to exist (if there ever was one). There were a little less than ten people spread out in the dining area with no one at the long table in the middle, predictably.

"This the place?" the strange newcomer asked, releasing a huff of breath as he placed his hands on his hips. Varu held up a hand as he bent over to catch his breath. He kept forgetting how heavy the Duel Disk can get when you run with it on. Varu looked at Sora out of the corner of his eye, who didn't exhibit any sings of tiring beyond that initial huff. Varu stood up with his own huff and nodded, saying, "Yeah. Good food and … interesting atmosphere. Great place for duelists to hang out."

Sora blinked blankly at Varu, but he just touched his wolf charm and opened the door with a smile. The two teenagers walked into the restaurant and towards the counter. A redheaded employee wearing a red polo with blue sleeves took their order and gave them a thin white plastic square with a red '4' emblazoned on it. Varu smiled at the employee as he took the number and led Sora to a booth opposite the entrance.

Once there, Varu pushed the release switch on the bottom of his duel disk; the six inch metal band that held the machine to his arm split open, allowing the dark-haired teen to take it off his arm and place it on the table as he sat down. Sora sat down opposite of Varu, his unique duel disk banging against the back of the booth as he sat down.

"Oh, right. Forgot about this thing." The new arrival muttered as he looked at his duel disk in confusion. Varu's eyes slid to the machine as well. It was a strange sight for sure. The black electronic screen which would display the Life Points during a duel was framed by a golden rectangle-like shape nearly the same size as Sora's forearm. The side closest to the shoulder was wider and had rounded corners with rivets in them while the other side had a section cut out for its deck slot and the corners cut off in a rounded shape. The card slot wing (which was where cards were played during a duel) looked like a standard Kaiba Corp Duel Disk, except that it slid into itself to show only three card slots and folded up against the duel disk to conserve space.

"Umm…" Sora said, tapping his duel disk's screen. Drawn out of his stupor, Varu smirked with a soft chuckle before telling his new friend about the switch on the underside of the device. Sora sighed in visible relief as the metal band split open and thanked the dark-haired teen. As he put his device to the side, the employee who took their order brought two tray; one for each order. Sora smiled widely before digging into his burger ravenously.

"So, Sora." Varu called, a smirk on his lips as he swallowed his first bite. "Where'd you get your duel disk? Not many duelists have custom-made one."

"Thish fing?" Sora asked with a mouthful of food, pointing at the duel disk he had just taken off. After Varu nodded, the sandy-haired teen swallowed heavily and said, "Not entirely sure. Kinda just found it and the cards on the train."

"Seriously?" Varu said incredulously while raising an eyebrow, his smirk dwindling a bit. No duelist he knew would leave his (or her) deck and duel disk just lying around on a train. Decks take too much time to make and a custom disk cost a lot of Munny. Varu would know; he'd been looking to get one himself. There was more to this story, he could tell. Sora was taking too much interest in his food to not be avoiding his gaze. Returning to his food, Varu decided against pushing the topic and asked, "Then I take it that you've never played Duel Monsters before?"

"Nope." Sora answered with a sheepish grin. "Don't even know what that is. Does it have something to do with this – duel disk? Doesn't look like much of a disk to me."

The dark-haired teen just blinked at the guy sitting across from him. How could Sora not know about the game? With all the outrage against it since the incident a few weeks back? But before Varu could reply, the redheaded employee from before came around with the ticket. Varu smiled knowingly before casually saying, "The usual way, please."

"Of course, sir. I'll go get it ready for you." The employee smiled back. As he left, the guy shouted at another employee behind the counter, "One ticket to discount! Get everything ready!"

Sora raised an eyebrow at Varu, who was still smiling as he put on his duel disk. "What's going on? You getting dessert?"

"Sadly not." Varu answered with a chuckle. "This restaurant allows you to pay for your food by taking on one of the employees in a game of Duel Monsters."

"Oh." The newcomer said, scratching the back of his head. "Are they any good?"

"Yeah, they can be." Varu answered as the big table in the middle and the chairs around it slid into the floor to create a large open space, perfect for dueling. The other people in the restaurant looked towards the table as it disappeared. Their conversations dwindled as some looked half expectantly around the room, trying to determine who would be going. The same employee cam back from behind the counter, a huge smile on his face and a Kaiba Corp Duel Disk on his arm. Varu's smile widened as he continued, "But I'm not so bad myself."

With that, the dark-haired teen left Sora at the booth, walking to a spot opposite the employee. The chatter around the room slightly grew, allowing Varu to hear little snippits. "Oh, it's Varu." "I wonder if this one can stand up to him." "This'll be a curbstomp." He tuned them out as he turned to the employee. Smiling at him, Varu pressed a button, which caused his duel disk to whir to life, the two halves of the wing coming together as he talked to his opponent, asking, "By the way, I don't think I've seen you here before. Did you just start working here."

"Yeah, just started this past weekend." The employee replied, mirroring his actions. Varu drew five cards from his deck, asking for the employee's name. The redhead drew his own hand as he answered, "Bransom, sir. And you're Varu Tallon, right?"

"That's me."

"The other workers warned me against duelin' you." Bransom muttered absently. "They say that you're too difficult for my first duel on the job."

Varu smiled softly as he quickly looked over his hand. _'Two monsters and three spell cards. Could be better_. _'_ He looked up at his opponent, saying, "Maybe. But I hope to have an enjoyable duel with you, Bransom."

"Same here." The redhead said with a smile. With the pleasantries out of the way, the two duelists nodded to each other and then shouted, "Let's Duel!"

Those words activated the duel disks of both participants. The lines around the card slots on Varu's disk's wing flashed its rainbow hues as the device wirelessly connected to the digital projectors somewhere in the room. The black electronic screen turned on with its distinctive glissando, displaying the typical starting Life Points. Varu looked up at his opponent, who had a floating blue rectangle with yellow numbers, displaying his current Life Points. Varu didn't need to look above his head to know that the same thing floated over his head.

{4000} / {4000}

"As is cutom, the challenger goes first." The dark-haired teen stated as he drew from the deck. He glanced at the card, then smirked as he switched it out with one in his hand. "I summon Wolfpack She-Wolf in face-up attack position."

As soon as Varu placed the card in a slot on his duel disk, the wing flashed its rainbow hues again and the hologram projectors hidden in the restaurant flared to life. A moment later, the image of a bipedal, blue-furred wolf, wearing feminine leather armor and wielding a long curved knife, phased into view. The snout of the image curled into a snarl as the bipedal she-wolf crouched into a battle stance. A grey box appeared next to it, displaying both its attack and defense points.

[ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1600]

" I set one card face-down and then end my turn." The image of a face-down Duel Monsters card appeared on the ground behind the image of Wolfpack She-Wolf. Varu motioned to the redheaded Mickey Dee's employee. "Your turn, Bransom."

"Wolfpack monsters, huh? Haven't run into that kinda deck for a long time." He said as he drew from the his deck. "I summon Jerry Beans Man in attack position!"

The image of a toddler-sized jellybean with a face and wearing a red cape appeared, brandishing a sword and shield. Both of which were about three quarters the size of the monster. A grey box appeared next to it, similar to the one next to Varu's own monster.

[ATK: 1750 / DEF: 0]

Pointing dramatically, Bransom declared battle between the anthropomorphic jellybean and the she-wolf. Jerry Beans Man leapt higher in the air than Varu thought it could, bringing its sword down to cleave the bipedal wolf in two. Pressing a button on his duel disk, Varu retaliated, "I activate my trap card, Fight or Flight Response!"

The face-down card swiveled up to reveal a violet card with a split image of two similarly dressed warriors simultaneously rushing an enemy and fleeing and some text at the bottom. Wolfpack She-Wolf glowed softly as a large quarter-like coin was flipped between Jerry Beans Man and Wolfpack She-Wolf. As the coin flipped in mid-air, Varu explained, "When your monster attacked my face-up attack position monster, a coin is flipped. If the result is heads, my monster gains half of its original attack points until the end of the turn. If it's tails, my monster safely returns to my hand."

The coin landed as he finished his explanation. Varu smiled. "The result is heads Wolfpack She-Wolf gains 800 attack until the end of your turn!"

[ATK: 2400 / DEF: 1600]

The now glowing she-wolf side-stepped the jellybean's attack and thrust its knife into the monster's side. With a comedically high-pitched scream, Jerry Beans Man shattered into numerous colorful glass-like shards, which promptly vanished. Bransom winced. Varu personally agreed with the restaurant worker. The deaths of the monsters in the game can be a little unsettling at times. His opponent's Life Points quickly ticked down until it read –

{3350}

"I should've been more careful…" Bransom muttered, looking over his hand, then setting two cards face-down before ending his turn. "It's all yours, friend."

"Varu drew from the deck. _Another trap card. 'Not ideal but it can work.'_ "I summon Wolfpack Ranger – the Lookout in attack position."

Another bipedal wolf appeared, this one also wearing leather armor but held a pole arm in one hand while the other held a ram's horn. He rested the pole arm against his shoulder, his expression solemn as he looked towards Bransom's side of the field.

[ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1200]

"I activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted!" Bransom declared. One of the face down cards revealed a violet card with an image of a tombstone on it. Purple smoke poured out of the card. Varu held back a smirk; he knew what was about to happen. "With this, I get to choose one monster in my Graveyard and bring it back to my side of the field in attack position. And the only monster there is Jerry Beans Man!"

The anthropomorphic jellybean leapt out of the purple smoke, grinning wildly and hoisting its sword high in the air. Varu looked over his hand and thought about his next move. There were two options before him: the normal way he would play or the reserved play. _'This is just his first duel here. I guess I'll go defensive, make him feel good.'_ "I activate the continuous spell Wolfpack Breeding Cave."

The image of a small hill with a cave rose up behind Wolfpack She-Wolf, the entrance covered with a dark blue curtain. "Once per turn, if I control Wolfpack She-Wolf and one other Wolpack monster, I can Special Summon one Wolfpack Pup from my hand or deck." As Varu explained, the two bipedal wolves retreated into the cave. Varu quickly searched through his deck and found the card he was looking for. After shuffling his deck, the dark haired teen placed the card in attack position and a child sized wolf wearing a simple brown tunic appeared sitting just outside the ave as the two other monsters walked out of the cave, returning to where they were.

[ATK: 500 / DEF: 200]

"Next, I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards." A green pot with a large, chubby face phased into view, smiling out to Bransom before two cards popped out of its top. The pot and cards faded away as Varu drew two cards from the deck. A monster and a trap. Varu set the trap and motioned to his opponent, sparing a glance at Sora to his right.

He seemed completely engrossed with it. His new friend had his mouth wide open as he watched the duel progress. Varu smiled as he returned his attention to the duel. Bransom was grinning as he looked at the card that he drew. He turned his attention to Varu as he said, "I activate the ritual spell, Hamburger Recipe!"

As soon as Bransom inserted the spell card into the duel disk, a chef with a head of a pig appeared. The chef pulled a massive pan and spatula out from behind his back. "By sending monsters from my hand whose total level equal 6 or more to the Graveyard, I can Ritual Summon Hungry Burger!"

Bransom discarded two cards from his hand, which was represented by two cards being tossed into the pig chef's pan, which began to sizzle. The chef smiled wisely as he flipped the pan (which was now full of meat and veggies) three times. On the third time, the chef vanished as a burger the size of a human flipped onto the restaurant floor. It would've looked like a regular Mickey Dee burger, were it not for the arm length, razor sharp teeth along the front third of both the top and bottom buns. The burger snarled at Varu as Bransom cockily stated, "I hope your hungry, Varu sir, cuz this guy's a mouthful."

"Really?" Varu replied, eyebrow cocked and smirk on his face. "That's the joke you're going with?"

"I thought it was clever…" The fast-food employee muttered, looking away sheepishly. Shaking his head, Bransom's smile was back on his face. "Whatever. We'll see what you have to say as it chomps down on one of your monsters!"

With that, the giant hamburger leapt into the air. If it hadn't been a digital projection, it probably would've hit and cracked the ceiling. As the monstrosity fell in the direction of one of his monsters, Varu smiled again and said, "Wolfpack Ranger – the Lookout's effect activates. During your turn, I can negate the first attack that you declare."

As Varu spoke, the male bipedal wolf raised the ram's horn and blew. A note resonated around the room, surprising a few of the customers around them. The regulars chuckled. The wolves on Varu's side of the field scattered, allowing the mutated burger to land harmless in the middle of them. Bransom blinked as the monsters returned to their original spots on the field.

"Well, that didn't go how I wanted it to." The redheaded employee muttered. "But I still have another monster on my side of the field! Jerry Beans Man attacks Wolfpack Pup!"

The anthropomorphic jellybean flew towards the child-like wolf, who stared at the oncoming sword with wide brown eyes. It was a good plan on his part. If it connected it would deal great damage to Varu's Life Points. Varu smirked again. It wouldn't connect, of course.

"Wolfpack She-Wolf's effect activates." Varu stated, unable to keep his cockiness in check. His opponent groaned as Varu explained the effect. "Whenever 'Wolfpack Pup' is attacked, She-Wolf gains 500 attack points until the end of the turn and intervenes, becoming the attack target."

[ATK: 2100 / DEF: 1600]

The female wolf rushed towards Jerry Beans Man, pulling her knife from its sheath and howling. The noise stopped the jellybean's attack inches from Wolfpack Pup as it looked towards She-Wolf in apparent confusion. In that moment, Wolfpack She-Wolf roundhouse kicked the jellybean away from Pup. Then, as Jerry Beans Man tried to recover, she shoved her knife into him. With another high-pitched scream, the anthropomorphic jellybean shattered into numerous colorful glass-like shards for the second time this duel, along with the Call of the Haunted trap card. The number above Bransom's head began to fall again as he rubbed his eyes and groaned, ending his turn. Probably in embarrassment.

{3000}

She-Wolf's attack ticked down as Varu drew from his deck. He barely glanced at it. The dark haired teen knew exactly what he was going to do, and he already had all the cards he needed. "I summon Wolfpack Alpha Commander in face-up attack position."

This time, a bipedal wolf wearing armor resembling that of an ancient Roman, but with azure cloth instead of the traditional red. This wolf had a sheathed short sword at its belt and carried a metal helmet in the crook of its arm, a sneer on its face as it looked at the giant burger.

[ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1200]

"I activate my trap card! Dust Tornado!" Bransom's facedown card revealed itself, a dust filled whirlwind springing from the image on the card, headed straight for the Wolfpack Breeding Cave on Varu's side of the field, which shattered as the employee explained, "This card allows me to destroy one spell or trap on the field, then allows me to set one spell or trap to my side of the field." A pause as he looked to his empty hand. "Well, that is if I had any."

"I was finished with that anyway." Varu said nonchalantly, shrugging as if he didn't care. "I activate the spell card Pack Mentality!"

As he inserted the card into his duel disk, a green card with the image of three wolves attacking a deer on it appeared behind Wolfpack She-Wolf. Bransom raised an eyebrow and asked, "Pack Mentality? What's it do?"

"I'll show you." Varu replied, a toothy, wolfish grin spread across his face as he did so. Then he pointed at the monstrous hamburger, saying, "Wolfpack She-Wolf attacks Hungry Burger!"

"Why would you do that?" Bransom asked with a hearty laugh. "Hungry Burger has 400 more attack points than her!"

"Because that's when Pack Mentality activates." Varu answered as the respective spell card began to glow. "In exchange for none of my other Wolfpack monsters being able to attack this turn, I can choose two other Wolfpack monsters I control and She-Wolf's attack points increase by their amount! And I choose Wolfpack Alpha Commander and Wolfpack Ranger – the Lookout, increasing her attack points by 3000 points until the end of the turn!"

The two monsters that he named walked over to Wolfpack She-Wolf and each placed a hand/paw on each shoulder. A glow similar to the one emanating from the spell card traveled from the two and into She-Wolf, who had begun to similarly glow. The bipedal wolf appeared to grin toothily as she twirled her curved knife in one hand, the floating attack score rapidly increasing.

[ATK: 4600 / DEF: 1600]

"But that's not all. I also activate the trap card Wolf Onslaught." The face-down card revealed itself, the image of a wolf leaping from a ledge unto a human who was already being bitten by another wolf prevalent on the card face. "With this card, I can increase She-Wolf's attack equal to another Wolfpack monster's level x200. By choosing Wolfpack Pup, who's level 2. I can increase her attack by 400!"

[ATK: 5000 / DEF: 1600]

Bransom's face paled as these cards and their effects were activated one after the other, and seeing Wolfpack She-Wolf's attack points climb higher and higher. No doubt he realized that the duel was over. He didn't have any more facedown cards to counter with. He only had the one monster, but it wasn't going to be enough to protect him. All he could do was watch the end come to a fold.

Wolfpack She-Wolf rushed the giant burger, slashing this way and that. The hamburger let out a deep, inhuman scream as the knife cut into the monster. Suddenly, the bipedal wolf leapt back and picked up Wolfpack Pup. After spinning the child-like wolf for a second, the female wolf launched it towards Hungry Burger. Once the small wolf collided with the hamburger, the sandwich-type food shattered into thousands of colorful glass-like shards. As the shards disappeared, Bransom's Life Points dropped quickly to 0.

The Mickey Dee's employee stared blankly as all of the images disappeared from the dueling area. The restaurant audience clapped in appreciation of the duel as Varu set to returning his cards to his deck slot. The loudest audience member was Sora, who was giving him a standing ovation and grinning from ear to ear. Varu smiled and waved at his new frined before walking over to his opponent, pressing the _'Travel Mode'_ button on the bottom of his duel disk.

"I guess they were right." Bransom muttered, shifting from foot to foot, not meeting Varu's eyes. "You were more difficult than I thought."

"Don't worry about that." Varu said with a soft smile, causing the employee to look up at him. "It was a good duel. I had fun."

"Really" he asked, an eyebrow raised. Varu nodded, smiling as he said, "With a little refinement, that deck can really take off. I also got lucky with my draws. If Pack Mentality hadn't been in my hand, I would've had a tough time of it."

"Then I'll get to practicing." Bransom said after a moment, a fire in his eyes that wasn't there a moment before. "Next time we duel, things'll be much different."

"I look forward to it." Varu responded with a chuckle and a wave as he walked towards Sora. The newcomer excitedly talked to him, recounting his favorite parts of the duel. "You didn't even get hit once! You countered every single move that he made! And that finish! Wow!" The dark haired teen laughed, asking, "I take it you enjoyed it?"

"How could I not? That was awesome!" Sora nearly shouted, coming close to leaping in the air. "You've gotta teach me how to play!"

"Alright, I will, but only if you calm down." Varu chuckled. Sora did as well, scratching the back of his head in mild embarrassment. The dark haired teen glanced at a nearby clock and nearly jumped out of his skin. It was already 5 o'clock? He turned to Sora, saying, "Do you mind if we start tomorrow? It's an hour to walk rom here to my house, and Mom usually wants me home between 6 and 6:30."

"No problem! Just one question." Varu raised an eyebrow as the newcomer grabbed his duel disk and asked, "Mind if I crash with you? I didn't actually make any plans besides 'show up'."

Varu sighed in slight exasperation. He could point Sora towards the nearest hotel, but he knew how Mom loved to care for others. He could already hear her reprimand for leaving someone to navigate the large city on their own, especially after treating them to lunch. So putting on a grin, he instead said, "Sure! Follow me, I'll show you how to get there. Let's get going."

"Alright!" Sora said with a grin. Then he looked down and blinked for a moment before sheepishly meeting Varu's eyes and asked, "How do I put this back on?"

Varu laughed and began to walk away, waving at the familiar employees as the sandy haired teen chased after him, calling out for his help. "Varu? C'mon! Help me out here! How do I put it on? Varu! Where are you going?!"

KH x YGO

 **A/N: Finally! About time that this chapter got finished! I meant to have this published last month, but was delayed due to school and just how extensive this chapter became. Hope you enjoyed it! It was the first look at both how I'm going to handle the duels in the future and Varu's Wolfpack Deck! I hope you like his cards, I spent most of my pre-writing planning on balancing them. I tried to base the duel off of those from the anime. Anyway, on to responses!**

 **To organization 13 is the best: Hopefully I did better with the description of Sora's duel disk this time around. I re-read the last chapter and realized that it was a little lack-luster. By the way, Kingdom Disk is the best name for Sora's keyblade transformation! Do you mind if I steal it from you? Sadly, I don't think Sora will be switching out keychains and changing the duel disk's appearance any time soon. He now knows that custom duel disks aren't common, so why would he walk around with a different duel disk every day? (An exaggeration but you get my point)**

 **To MaryEvH: Take your time! You'll probably consistently comment before I can post the next chapter, so don't worry about it! But yeah, I enjoyed writing that part. Considering the two characters' personalities, I couldn't think of another way of these two finding each other! Don't worry, I plan on continuing. If all goes well, you'll see the next chapter soon. ;)**

 **Now for something new! From now on, this last little section will be dedicated to showcasing the original cards from the current and/or previous chapters (depends on what's going on in the chapter). This is so that you can a] keep me in check and b] see just what cards these characters are using. Enjoy!**

 **Wolfpack She-Wolf**

4* (EARTH) [Beast-Warrior/Effect]

 _If a face-up 'Wolfpack Pup' would be selected as an attack target, increase this card's ATK by 500 (until the end phase) and switch the attack target to this card._

[ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1600]

 **Pack Mentality**

(SPELL) [Continuous]

 _You can only activate this card's effect during your Battle Phase, and only once per turn. When a 'Wolfpack' monster you control declares an attack on an opponent's monster, you can select up to two other 'Wolfpack' monsters you control; the attacking monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the selected monsters. No other 'Wolfpack' monsters you control can declare an attack this turn._

 **Wolfpack Breeding Cave**

(SPELL) [Continuous]

 _You can only activate this effect once per turn, during your Main Phase 1. If you control a face-up "Wolfpack She-Wolf" and one other 'Wolfpack' monster, you can Special Summon one "Wolfpack Pup" from your hand or deck. "Wolfpack She-Wolf" cannot declare an attack the turn that you use this effect._


	4. Chapter 3: A Friendly Family

**Ch. 3**

 **A Friendly Family**

As the two walked towards Varu's house, Sora listened to Varu as he described the city around them. They passed stores, parks, and business buildings. The most impressive building was the Kaiba Corp building, which were mostly glass panes with a compass-like construct sitting on top of it. Sora gaped at the buildings, surprised that buildings this narrow could stand so tall.

About thirty minutes into their walk across Domino City, as Varu called this world, the two teenagers were walking through Domino Park and saw a duel taking place between two blue-uniformed high-schoolers (one of which had the strangest spikey purplish hair with golden bangs). Sora slowed to a stop, distracted by an anthropomorphic panther-warrior slicing the weird haired teen's green, bipedal, horned fiend in half. Varu looked between Sora and the duel, a small smile coming to his lips. Motioning to his companion, Varu said, "Come on. I'll teach you a few of the basics as we walk."

"Really?" Sora nearly bounced over to where Varu was standing. "I thought you weren't going to start teaching me until tomorrow?"

"Might as well." The teen replied with a shrug. "We've got the time to talk about a few things as we walk."

Varu pulled a card from his Duel Disk, glanced at it, and then passed it over to Sora. The Keyblade wielder cautiously took the card with both hands, afraid of dropping it. It was a burnt orange card with a picture of a bipedal, blue-furred wolf wearing feminine leather armor. Sora recognized it as the first monster that Varu 'summoned' in his duel, Wolfpack She-Wolf. A quick look at the top of the card affirmed this, as the words 'Wolfpack She-Wolf' was typed there.

"This kind of card is known as a monster card. There are many variants of monster cards but the one you're holding is the most common kind. The orange color specifies it as an 'Effect Card'." Varu said, not looking at Sora as he talked. "At the top of every Duel Monsters card is a box where the card's name is typed. Next to it is a small colored circle with a word typed in it – this circle tells what kind of attribute that card has."

Sora looked at where Varu was talking about and saw a dirt brown circle with the word EARTH written in it. "So that makes this card an EARTH monster?"

"Correct." Varu nodded. "Some cards affect monsters with a certain attribute, so it's important to keep that in mind. Under a monster's name and attribute is a row of yellow stars in red circles. You see them?" Sora nodded. "Those stars represent the level of the monster. A monster's level determines how easy it is to summon it, but we'll talk more about that later. I just want you to be able to recognize them.

"Under the level is an illustration. Every card in the game has an illustration. It's not really that important, but its always fun to look at them. The illustrations are usually portrayed in some way through the holograms, so that's cool.

"The most important part of any card is underneath that." Sora looked at the bottom of the card and saw a white text box with a lot of words. "That text box is the description of the card. On a Monster card, the first thing you see is the card's type."

The wielder looked at the text box and read the monster's type; BEAST-WARRIOR. Sora thought about asking about how many types there were, but Varu kept talking, forcing him to pay attention. "Underneath the type is the card's effect. We'll talk more about effects when we actually start dueling. Basically, you do as the card says. Also on monster cards are some bolded text under the effect."

"Yeah, some numbers and the letters ATK and DEF." Sora said, squinting at the small print. "What do they mean?"

"ATK is the abbreviation for 'attack points' while DEF is the abbreviation for 'defense points'." Varu explained, looking in both directions as he led Sora across a street. "The numbers that follow those abbreviations are its attack and defense points. I'll explain in more detail later, but, essentially, those numbers determine how strong they are in battle.

"There are two other basic kinds of cards." Varu said as he handed Sora two more cards. Distracted, the young wielder almost dropped the card he was already holding. After a brief second of floundering around for it, Sora once again held Wolfpack She-Wolf in two hands. Embarrassed, he handed the card back to Varu before taking the new ones. One was green while the other was a light purple.

"The green one is known as a 'Spell card'. They're basically instantaneous effects. We'll talk more about how to use them later." Varu explained as the two teens walked by a post office. "The purple-ish one is called a 'Trap card'. These cards usually have effects that require something called a 'trigger' to happen."

"What are these symbols underneath their names?" Sora asked, looking at Varu with a raised eyebrow. Varu looked at Sora with knowing smile. Annoyance crept into the keyblade wielder's thoughts at it. It was similar to the smile that Riku would give him before showing him up back home. As Varu explained that they 'denoted what kind of spell or trap card they were', Sora tried to shove his annoyance away.

That's when the smell hit him. Nostalgia and disgust flowed through him. The salt of the ocean and the distinguishable stench of fish clung to the air. They rounded a corner and the source was visible. About a quarter of a mile down the gently slopping road, Sora could see the unmistakable hustle of fishing docks and the sparkling blue waves beyond that. A wide smile spread unbiddingly across his face.

"If you're done standing there smiling like a fool, we're here." Varu called from the wielder's left, a chuckle in his voice. Sora grinned at his new friend and followed him up the steps to the red door of a small, two story building – well, section of the building. On second look, the building itself went from the road they just turned from to the next one down the hill, but doors at regular intervals indicated various areas of residence.

Varu grinned back as he opened the door and stepped inside. Sora followed, but stopped as he stepped past the door to breathe in the surprisingly familiar smell. Baked salmon; the same dish that he was going to have that night whenthe islands succumbed to darkness. Sora had mixed emotions about that night.

Before the young wielder could dwell on the thought too long, Varu closed the door behind them and, as he took his shoes off, shouted, "Hey mom, I'm home. Hope you made enough for three people!"

"Did you skip lunch again?" a female voice called out from where Sora assumed the kitchen was. "You know that's not good for you."

The dark-haired teen let out a chuckle, then stood up. "Not this time. I brought someone home."

"Is it that girl from school? The cute brunette one?"

"No, not this time." Varu responded, his face reddening as Sora coughed to cover up his laugh. "Just some guy that I met at the station today."

"Well then, it's a good thing that I tend to cook extra food." Varu's mom joked, walking out of the kitchen. Sora could definitely see that this woman was Varu's mom. They had the same black hair (though her was longer and eyes. She smiled at Sora and reached out to shake his hand, saying, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Ms. Tallon."

"I'm Sora!" The keyblade wielder grinned as he shook the woman's hand. After the teens took off their shoes and Duel Disks, Ms. Tallong led the two through the small living room into the kitchen. Sora, who lived in a roomy house back on Destiny Islands, was surprised by the relative small size of the rooms. Sora nearly ran into the railing for the stairs as he avoided one of the bean bags in the living room.

Soon enough, though, the three of them were eating a wonderful diner of Baked Salmon, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. The conversation was nice and light, though Sora did here to evade a few questions about where he was from again. Varu's mom did most of the talking – the dark-haired teen was engrossed with his food.

"So will you be staying with us for long?" Ms. Tallon asked Sora. The young wielder took a massive gulp before replying, "Maybe. I'm here to 'train my mind'. At least, that's what Master Yen Sid told me before I left to come here."

"Master?" Ms. Tallon looked worried as she began to ask. "Is he a teacher or…"

"He's my key – combat teacher." Sora answered, stumbling over his words to avoid mentioning the keyblade. It seemed like this world didn't know anything about the magical weapons – and King Mickey and Master Yen Sid would want to keep it that way."

"What, like Karate?" Varu asked, raising an eyebrow. Sora nodded, despite not having a single clue what this 'Karate' was. "Why does a Karate instructor want you to train your mind?"

"Sora had to spend more time than he liked thinking up an answer for that. He tried hididng it by taking another bite out of the salmon, eventually swallowing and answering, "There's an important … competition coming soon and one of my opponents is really smart. Master Yen Sid is hoping that I can learn some strategy so that I don't all for his tricks … again."

"You've fought him before?" Ms. Tallon questioned. Sora nodded in reply, "Sorta, I lost to his team before I even got to fight him."

"Sounds like a hassle." Varu said, standing up to begin picking up plates. "But if you want to learn about strategy, Duel Monsters is the way to go. Not sure how you can translate card game strategy into Karate strategy, but you'll work it out."

"Sora grinned at the dark-haired teen as he handed over his empty plate. "I guess it's a good thing that you're going to teach me how to play it!"

Varu returned the grin and took the three plates to the sink and began to wash them. Sora watched as Ms. Tallon stood from the table and dried the dishes when her son finished washing them. Once all of the dishes were dry and put away, she smiled at Varu and said, "Why don't you go show Sora where the guest bedroom, where he'll be sleeping."

"You sure, Mom?" Varu asked, a look coming to his face that Sora couldn't place. His mom smiled and nodded in reply, to which the dark-haired teen just sighed and motioned for Sora to follow him. The wielder's new friend led him up the stairs to the building's second floor, a small hallway with four wooden doors and a few picture frames along both sides. A window showing the alley on the backside of the building was right next to them, at the top of the stairs.

As Varu led Sora down the hall, the young keyblade wielder looked at some of the photographs on the walls. Most of them were of a younger Varu and his mom at various locations. Parks, school, inside a car. There was a recent one where they were standing outside of a shop, a short older man with spikey grey hair suppressed under a bandanna handing over a long box with a picture of a Duel Disk on it. Varu saw Sora looking at it and smiled, "That was a good day. I'll take you to see Mr. Moto's Game Shop some day. It's a great place.

"Here we are." Sora's new friend stopped in front of the last door on the right and opening the door to a dark room. Varu continued talking as he turned on the light. "This'll be where you can lay your head. My room is across the hall, the bathroom is on your side of the hall towards the stairs, and the remaining door is a closet."

"So where is your mom gonna sleep?" Sora asked, walking into the room and looking around at the furniture. The bed, nightstand, and wardrobe were all made of a simple wooden style. Even the small picture frame on the nightstand was of made of simple wood. Varu made a disgusted face, but quickly tried to squash it as he said, "We have another bedroom downstairs. It hasn't been used in a while."

"Oh, ok." Sora said, a smile spread across his face. At least he wasn't causing a space issue in their home. Varu gave a small smile in return and told him to call him if he needed anything before heading towards the bathroom. Sora watched him go, waiting until the bathroom door closed before closing his own and pulling out Yen Sid's foldable mirror from his bags of side pockets. He sat down on the bed and opened it, saying the old wizard's name. A moment later, Sora's reflection rippled away to reveal blue-clad wizard, casually stroking his beard as usual."

"Sora." Yen Sid said in greeting. "It is good to hear from you. How goes your training?"

"I haven't been able to do much here in Domino City." Sora admitted with a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head. His face lit up as he continued, "But this world is so cool! It has this card game called Duel Monsters where the cards can come to life! My new friend Varu is going to teach me how to play. I can't wait!"

A smile came to the wizard's face before he replied, "It sounds like you are enjoying yourself. Remember your purpose for being there."

"Right." Sora said, trying to suppress the smile that was across his face. Yen Sid sighed before saying, "At least you reached Duelist Kingdom safely."

"Duelist Kingdom?" The young wielder asked with a look of confusion. "I thought this world was called Domino City?"

"Domino City is just one location on that world, Sora." The wizard informed him with another stroke of his beard. "Just as Sunset Terrace is of Twilight Town."

"Oh, ok. I guess that makes sense." Sora said quietly. Yen Sid made a thoughtful humph before saying, "Well, continue your studies. I'll be waiting for your next report."

"Yes, sir!" Sora said with a salute as the Yen Sid's image rippled away, leaving only Sora's reflection saluting awkwardly back at him. Closing the mirror, he stuffed it back into his side pocket and laid back on the bed. It was a twin-size mattress, so the young wielder's feet would dangle over the end as he slept, but very comfortable in spite of that. Sora stayed like that for a moment before sitting up, a picture of four people on the nightstand having caught his attention. But before he could take a closer look at it, a knock at the door startled him. Varu opened the door and poked his head in, saying, "Hey, we've still got some time to kill before I'm remotely tired. If you're not tired, I could continue teaching you about Duel Monsters. Without Duel Disks I think; I don't want to disturb mom."

"Awesome! I'll have to get my deck from the Duel Disk downstairs." Sora said with a huge, infectious grin as he leapt from the bed. Varu nodded, a smile coming to his face as well. The dark-haired teen fully stepped into the room, allowing Sora to slip by him as he said, "My room's a little cluttered, so we'll do it in here."

"Sounds good to me!" The young wielder called over his shoulder as he lightly jogged down the hall. As he turned onto the stairs, Sora grinned at Varu one more time. "You may want to repeat what you told me earlier. I may have forgotten most of it."

Sora could see his new friend shake his head as he went down the stairs. The warrior waved at Ms. Tallon as he crossed the room. Varu's mom was sitting in one of the beanbag chairs, a notebook in her lap as the television showed the evening news. Sora took the deck of cards and took the stairs two at a time, excited to start learning this game. He turned a little too fast at the top and dropped a few cards. With a small 'whoops', the young wielder stooped to pick up the cards that fell.

His fingers stopped an inch away from the nearest card. He couldn't understand just what he was seeing. It had to be a trick of the eyes. Sora rubbed his eyes, but the card remained the same. Excitement turned to confusion and finally to bewildered fear. "What in the name of Kingdom Hearts is going on here?" Sora muttered to himself, as he shakily picked up the card.

It was orange card, meaning that it was a monster (if Sora remembered correctly). The image in the center was of a young warrior wearing mostly black, with a dark blue shirt under his black short sleeve hoodie and black, baggy shorts with massive red bags on the side for pockets. The warrior stared out of the card with an infectious smile that reached his blue eyes. The image was holographic, making the spikey hair seem to move as the card did.

And the text box with the monster's name read: _'Keyblade Wielder – Sora'_.

 **KH x YGO**

 **AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for my 6 month hiatus. It was a busy summer and, somehow, this chapter was really hard to write. Maybe it was the lack of action? Too much talking? Idk, let me know what you thought in the reviews. Hopefully, this next chapter won't take as long. It'll be more exciting, that's for sure. To the responses!**

 **org 13 is the best - Hmm I looked at what the mecha phantom beasts are about, and I'm not sure they'll fit in this story. This plotline doesn't delve into synchros, drawing more inspiration from the original series. So no card games on motorcycles either.**

 **MaryEvH - Thanks! I really liked how the duel turned out. I spent a bit of time deciding how to best balance the over-the-top shenanigans that happen in the show with actual story-telling, so I'm glad you enjoyed.**

 **Johnathen - Thanks! I hope my writing is a bit faster this time. Yes, expect to see Sora using a Kingdom Hearts deck, as you saw at the end of this chapter. Not sure about the 'every fictional character' thing, but you'll have to see what I do with the Heartless when it comes to this world. I think you'll enjoy it. ;)**

 **Until next time!**

 **KH x YGO**

 **Keyblade Wielder – Sora**

4* (LIGHT) [Warrior/Effect]

 _When equipped with a 'Keyblade' card, all Dark type monsters this card attacks lose 500ATK during the Damage Step. When there are 2 or more other monster face-up on your side of the field (except if 'Sora' is in their name, all monsters on your side of the field gain 300 ATK._

[ATK: 1500 / DEF: 1550]

 **Wolfpack Ranger – The Lookout**

4* (EARTH) [Beast-Warrior/Effect]

 _If you control another face-up 'Wolfpack' monster, you can negate the first attack your opponent declares during his/her Battle Phase. If you control a face-up field spell card, his/her Battle Phase then ends._

[ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1200]

 **Fight or Flight Response**

(TRAP) [Counter]

 _Activate this card only when an opponent's monster attacks a face-up attack position monster. Flip a coin. If the result is heads, the attacked monster increases its ATK by half of its current ATK. If the result is tails, the attacked monster is added to the owner's hand and the battle is negated._


	5. Chapter 4: A Dark Night

**CH. 4 - A Dark Night**

Derek's steps echoed through the barren street, the stars shining especially bright this evening. The blonde teenager wasn't supposed to be out this late. His mother would give him an earful, once he got back home. Not that he blamed her. He'd heard the news anchors reporting on the missing people too. He just lost track of time playing Duel Monsters at his friend's. He had another duel with Varu in two days, so he wanted to practice the improved deck that he built based on his advice. Had it really only been a month and a half since Varu started to help him out with the game?

Derek came to a stop at a crosswalk, glancing up at the stars as he waited for the light to change. Sometimes he liked to imagine that each star was a separate place; places that he could visit if he had the ability to. He picked a random star, one where he envisioned that every day was Halloween and the monsters that his mother would tell stories about were very much alive.

A man, older than Derek and wearing some kind of cloak, shouldered past the blonde teen to cross the street, breaking him out of his daydream. Derek shook his head awake and followed the man acroos, keeping his head down as he rehearsed his excuses to tell his mother once he got home. In the middle of the fourth time mentally telling her that it wasn't his fault, Derek heard a sound coming from an alley ten feet in front of him.

Frowning slightly, the teen readjusted the Duel Disk on his arm before sneaking along the brick wall towards the alley where he heard the sound come from. As he approached the mouth of the alley, he heard the sound again. This time, he recognized it as something being thrown against a dumpster. Derek would have dismissed his nerves if it weren't for the sound of someone groaning from the impact. The teen immediately froze in place. He thought, _What on earth is going on?_

Then a voice spoke from within the alley. It said, "Interesting. The functions of this world are utterly fascinating. And the amount of darkness here is promising." There was a pause as Derek began to process the voice and what it said. The voice was deeper than any that Derek had heard before, cracking as if from old age. But with a methodical speech pattern, the effect wasn't pitiful, but rather insidious. Almost as if the oldest and wisest man loved to torture others in his spare time. It was a voice that terrified Derek as it continued, "Not that it matters to you. You are nothing more than a mindless Shadow of who you used to be." Another pause. "Still, you can be of use to me. Go. I shall have a purpose for you soon."

As the voice finished speaking, Derek felt his fear turn into anger. He hated bullies. He fought hem off of his friends all the time back at Domino High and the more he heard this guy speak, the more he sounded like an adult bully. Well, he wasn't going to have it. Without thinking about it twice, the blonde teenager stepped into the alley and saw a hunched figure with both hands clasped behind his cloaked back. He shouted at the figure, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

The figure stopped and turned his head to look at him with piercing golden eyes. Derek faltered in his fury when their eyes met. The figure's eyes were cold, angry, and disinterested, as if to say, 'Why did you stop me you insignificant speck?' The deep voice spoke again, coming clearly from the figure to say, "I was walking away before you interrupted me."

"W-w-where's the other g-guy?" Derek stammered under the weight of those golden eyes. "I-I heard ev-everything!"

The figure didn't answer immediately, instead opting to fully turn around to face the blonde high schooler, giving him his first real look at the figure. It was a man with leathery brown skin, as if he spent most of his time outside, his skin tanning until its present state. While bald, he possessed a silver haired goatee about four inches long. He had a black and grey open front coat that had reinforced shoulders and a red interior, which he wore over an ivory colored tunic, black pants, and black leather boots. The man pointed at the Duel Disk on Derek's arm with a white, flare-cuffed glove. "I see you possess one of those machines. Are you, by chance, a duelist?"

"So what if I am? You haven't answered my question." The young man growled, his anger resurging over his trepidation. The older man smirked, deceptively good natured, as he replied, "But if you were, then I would be willing to answer all of your questions."

The smirk turned into a full grin as he pulled his other hand, the left one, from behind his back. This one was wearing a wicked looking duel disk of twisted black metal. On the forearm sat the typical screen that would display Life Points, but black, metal bat wings encircled it. The deck slot was a small ram's head with long, wide horns. The black wing of the duel disk seemed longer than the typical KaibaCorp Duel Disk, the end near the old man's elbow resembling an axe-head with a single, light-blue, slit-pupil eye sitting in the center. Derek was sure that he hadn't been wearing that terrofiying duel disk before, but the old man broke into his thoughts, saying, "That is, if you manage to defeat me."

Part of Derek knew that it was a trap, but he found himself smiling as he pushed the button that drew the two halves of the Disk's wing together. He moved to duel, as the older man had guessed, and quickly set aside his doubts. He would have all of the answers once he beat this old coot. After all, how difficult could it be to beat one old man in a game that he'd been practicing almost religiously for the last month and a half?

 **\- KH x YGO -**

Ten minutes later, Derek was flung into the side of a dumpster as the images from the duel faded into shadows. Maybe it was the impact, but the shadows seemed to reach out towards the blonde teen as the terrifying voice taunted, "How disappointing. I expected more from you, duelist."

The young man tried to move, to run away from the terrifying individual. Before he could muscle the strength to begin pushing himself up, a blow to his side knocked him to the ground, facing skyward. There was a lurching pain in his chest before his vision began to tunnel. The last things he saw before the darkness took over were the stars being blocked out by the image of the bald man, illuminated by a rose light and muttering to himself, "Now this is an interesting development. Perhaps you are not a disappointment after all."

 **-KH x YGO -**

 **T/O : Hey everyone! Wow, a whole year from the previous chapter? That's a bit ridiculous on my end. I don't really have an excuse this time. This isn't even what I had planned for the next chapter. It was supposed to be the one after, but the duel in the next chapter is taking forever to write in a cohesive way. Anywho, ta da! A foreshadowing/plot chapter finally happened! KH fans will recognize who this guy his, but shhhhh don't spoil it! I'm excited to share with you how this story unfolds, but you'll have to wait and see! On to responses!**

 **To Guest/Johnathen:**

 **Maybe my app is acting up, but it's registering your name as Guest? Just something weird I wanted to mention.**

 **But in response to your idea about other fictional characters being in the story, I don't think they'll be implemented as full duels in this story. It would just be too clunky and detract from the narrative that I'm trying to tell. However, they would make fun cameos. That probably wouldn't be too distracting - I'll look into it.**

 **As for the idea about future game mechanics, it's the same problem. It would be too distracting. However, I have an idea for a spin-off that you might enjoy. If I manage to get this whole thing finished, that is.**

 **Finally, thank you so much for staying involved with this story! I'll try to meet your excitement and not fall off the bandwagan again.**

 **To Guest:**

 **I'm glad you enjoy! Hopefully this and next chapter will satisfy you!**

Cards

 **Wolf Onslaught**

(Trap)

 _When a '_ Wolfpack _' monster you control attacks or is attacked, you can activate this card during damage calculation. Select another '_ Wolfpack _' you control. The attacking/attacked monster gains ATK equal to the level of the selected monster x200._

 **Wolfpack Pup**

2* (EARTH) [Beast/Effect]

 _During your Main Phase (except the turn that this card was Normal or Special Summoned), you can tribute this face-up card. If you do, Special Summon a level 4 or less '_ Wolfpack _' monster from your hand._

[ATK: 200 / DEF: 200]

 **Keyblade - Kingdom Key**

(SPELL) [Equip]

 _Can only be equipped to a monster with 'Keyblade' in its name. The equipped monster gains 500 ATK and DEF. If equipped to a monster with 'Sora' in its name, draw one card. During the End Phase if the turn that this card was sent to the Graveyard, add it to your hand._


End file.
